Identification of a conservative site in the African swine fever virus p54 protein and its preliminary application in a serological assay

BackgroundASF was first reported in Kenya in 1910 in 1921. In China, ASF spread to 31 provinces including Henan and Jiangsu within six months after it was first reported on August 3, 2018. The epidemic almost affected the whole China, causing direct economic losses of tens of billions of yuan. Cause great loss to our pig industry. As ELISA is cheap and easy to operate, OIE regards it as the preferred serological method for ASF detection. P54 protein has good antigenicity and is an ideal antigen for detection.ObjectiveTo identify a conservative site in the African swine fever virus (ASFV) p54 protein and perform a Cloth-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detecting the ASFV antibody in order to reduce risks posed by using the live virus in diagnostic assays.MethodWe used bioinformatics methods to predict the antigen epitope of the ASFV p54 protein in combination with the antigenic index and artificially synthesized the predicted antigen epitope peptides. Using ASFV-positive serum and specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), we performed indirect ELISA and blocking ELISA to verify the immunological properties of the predicted epitope polypeptide.ResultsThe results of our prediction revealed that the possible antigen epitope regions were A23–29, A36–45, A72–94, A114–120, A124–130, and A137–150. The indirect ELISA showed that the peptides A23–29, A36–45, A72–94, A114–120, and A137–150 have good antigenicity. Moreover, the A36–45 polypeptide can react specifically with the mAb secreted by hybridoma cells, and its binding site contains a minimum number of essential amino acids in the sequence 37DIQFINPY44.ConclusionsOur study confirmed a conservative antigenic site in the ASFV p54 protein and its amino acid sequence. A competitive ELISA method for detecting ASFV antibodies was established based on recombinant p54 and matching mAb. Moreover, testing the protein sequence alignment verified that the method can theoretically detect antibodies produced by pigs affected by nearly all ASFVs worldwide.     

基于粒子群算法的圆柱度误差评定方法

根据最小区域条件,建立了圆柱度误差的数学模型以及优化目标函数和适应度函数,阐述了粒子群优化算法的原理和实现方法,然后根据粒子群算法优化求解。实例表明,该方法对于圆柱度误差评定等非线性优化问题能得到全局最优解,粒子群优化算法的计算精度与其他满足最小条件的计算方法相比略有提高,且参数设置少,计算速度快,可用于三坐标测量机等测量系统的圆柱度误差测量后的数据处理。     

基于纹理和位置特征的麦田杂草识别方法

以化学防除适期麦田杂草为研究对象,对利用条播作物的位置和纹理特征识别田间杂草的方法进行了研究。根据条播作物小麦作物行的间距相对固定等位置特征,利用植物像素直方图法确定作物行的中心线和行宽,并识别行间杂草。然后,以作物行中心为基准来选取纹理块,计算量化级数为8级的H颜色空间的共生矩阵,提取5个纹理特征参数,利用K均值聚类法判别分析各块的类别来识别行内杂草。研究结果表明,杂草的正确识别率约为93％,作物的错误识别率约为7％。     

Fucose-Rich Sulfated Polysaccharides from Two Vietnamese Sea Cucumbers Bohadschia argus and Holothuria (Theelothuria) spinifera: Structures and Anticoagulant Activity

Fucosylated chondroitin sulfates (FCSs) FCS-BA and FCS-HS, as well as fucan sulfates (FSs) FS-BA-AT and FS-HS-AT were isolated from the sea cucumbers Bohadschia argus and Holothuria (Theelothuria) spinifera, respectively. Purification of the polysaccharides was carried out by anion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-Sephacel column. Structural characterization of polysaccharides was performed in terms of monosaccharide and sulfate content, as well as using a series of non-destructive NMR spectroscopic methods. Both FCSs were shown to contain a chondroitin core [→3)-β-d-GalNAc-(1→4)-β-d-GlcA-(1→]_n bearing sulfated fucosyl branches at O-3 of every GlcA residue in the chain. These fucosyl residues were different in pattern of sulfation: FCS-BA contained Fuc2S4S, Fuc3S4S and Fuc4S at a ratio of 1:8:2, while FCS-HS contained these residues at a ratio of 2:2:1. Polysaccharides differed also in content of GalNAc4S6S and GalNAc4S units, the ratios being 14:1 for FCS-BA and 4:1 for FCS-HS. Both FCSs demonstrated significant anticoagulant activity in clotting time assay and potentiated inhibition of thrombin, but not of factor Xa. FS-BA-AT was shown to be a regular linear polymer of 4-linked α-L-fucopyranose 3-sulfate, the structure being confirmed by NMR spectra of desulfated polysaccharide. In spite of considerable sulfate content, FS-BA-AT was practically devoid of anticoagulant activity. FS-HS-AT cannot be purified completely from contamination of some FCS. Its structure was tentatively represented as a mixture of chains identical with FS-BA-AT and other chains built up of randomly sulfated alternating 4- and 3-linked α-L-fucopyranose residues.     

CmRT1, a Ty3-gypsy-like retrotransposon in Castanea mollissima,is associated with a short-catkin mutation

Summary

Retrotransposons are major components of the genomes of most eukaryotic organisms and have resulted in the introduction of desirable traits in many crops, including fruit trees. Here, we describe a Ty3-gypsy-like retrotransposon associated with a short-catkin mutant in Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima), resulting in catkins that are < 20% the length of normal staminate catkins. A partial sequence of the retrotransposon, named CmRT1, detected by amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis, and its complete sequence were determined from the genome of Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima) using improved Tail-PCR. CmRT1 was 10,067 bp in length and shared high homology in its predicted amino acid sequence and motifs with other Ty3/gypsy-like retrotransposons. The 5’ long terminal repeat (LTR) of CmRT1 contained a TATA box and several cis-elements that were predicted to be important for processes involving abscisic acid, gibberellic acid, and auxins and in stress-mediated responses. Further characterisation of the transposition event that led to the short-catkin phenotype was performed using two pairs of primers that aligned with the flanking region of the LTRs. The expected PCR bands were observed only in genomic DNA from plants that showed the mutation. Finally, cloning and real-time qPCR analysis of an NADP-dependent alkenal double-bond reductase (CmADBR) target gene that was adjacent to CmRT1, revealed that CmADBR expression was significantly down-regulated in the short-catkin mutant. Taken together, these results suggest that the CmRT1 retrotransposon is responsible for the short-catkin phenotype.     

黄瓜单性结实果实发育与碳氮变化的关系

对黄瓜单性结实品系P 116 8和非单性结实品系UP 3315进行授粉和不授粉处理 ,P 116 8在不授粉的情况下 ,仍具有较好的结实性能 ,其单果质量、果长和果实体积均接近于授粉后生长的果实 ,非单性结实品系UP 3315在不授粉的情况下幼果在花后 3d(天 )就停止发育 ,不能形成产量。随着果实的生长发育 ,果实内碳、氮含量迅速增加 ,花后单果可溶性总糖和蛋白质含量与单果质量呈正相关关系     

作物遥感估产的现状及其展望

 总结了国内外作物遥感估产的状况，并对作物遥感的技术集成和便利化服务、数据处理、农业标准化、农学机理、扩大用户需求共4个方面作了展望。     

化肥投入的环境经济分析

本文通过对化肥使用的收益成本分析及其对环境造成的影响,利用二次生产函数模型,以洞庭湖区农民的化肥投入为案例,分别考虑粮食产量最大、农民经济收益最大和净经济效益最大3种情况的化肥投入量,进而提出化肥控制和管理对策的最佳管理措施建议。